Ball Glove for Beginners

ABSTRACT

A training glove for catching baseball, softball, or the like comprises a cushioned pad attached to the heel of the glove. The pad can prevent a ball bouncing out of the glove and can decelerate a ball hitting the pad. The training glove is useful for preventing injuries to beginning players, especially children. The pad may be permanently or reversibly attached to the glove and may contain a pocket for storing a mouth guard or other small objects and may be a part of a kit for modifying a glove or mitt to comprise the pad.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to athletic equipment, ball gloves andmitts, training gloves and mitts, and attachments for ball gloves andmitts.

Description of Related Art

Sports such as baseball, softball, and tee ball involve the use ofgloves for catching balls. Injuries can occur while playing thesesports, especially when first learning how to play. For example, aperson catching a ground ball with the palm of the glove facing upwardcan unintentionally guide the incoming ball into his or her face if theopposite hand is not in place to help stop the ball in the glove.Similarly, a person catching a ball falling from above canunintentionally redirect the ball toward the face. Injuries of this typeare more common and particularly difficult to avoid for children firstlearning to play, for example children less than ten years old.

A number of solutions to the problem have been developed. For example,U.S. Pat. No. 2,284,920 describes a baseball glove provided with aball-receiving pocket, depression or socket that is built into theglove. The pocket, depression or socket can be varied in shape,dimensions or location so as to adapt the glove to the particular personor to the particular way the user catches a ball. By manipulating theposition of a variable heel portion, a user can adjust the glove toproduce a ball-receiving pocket with a deep portion located at aparticular point in the palm portion of the glove which that user findsto be best for catching a ball. U.S. Pat. No. 2,288,467 describes asimilar mitt or glove in which a curved or segmental-shaped curb memberat the heel of the mitt is made with greater flexibility to the mitt andinsure that the palm portion assumes a cupped shape even when the mittor glove is new. These solutions are directed to improving the catchingability of relatively experienced players and there is no mention ofinjury prevention or advantages for training.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,209 describes a baseball glove especially adaptedfor use by children. The glove has a padded pocket member that extendsalong the front side of a thumb section, across a base portion of a palmsection, along a front side of an outer portion of a finger section andacross an upper end portion of the front side of the finger section tosubstantially define the perimeter of a pocket in the glove. The glovealso includes a padded retainer that is detachably secured to oppositeside portions of the pocket member and extends across the base portionof the palm section. The glove can be initially used by a young childwith the retainer member in place in order to enable the child to moreeasily catch and retain a ball in the pocket of the glove. Once thechild develops a level of proficiency, the retaining member can beremoved to enable the glove to be used in a manner similar to aconventional baseball glove. The pocket member is not removable and evenafter the retaining member is removed from the pocket member, the pocketmember cooperates with the glove to form an effective pocket allowingthe child to easily catch and retain a ball.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,991,917 describes a baseball glove with a heel pocketthat opens and closes when the glove is manipulated between open andclosed positions. The heel pocket comprises a web, first and second endflaps, each having an upper edge and a base edge. The base edges aresecured to the heel of the glove and the end flaps are secured to thethumb stall and the little finger stall of the glove. When the glove isopen, the heel pocket is open to receive a ball and, when the glove isclosed, the heel pocket is thereby closed so that it holds the ball. Thepurpose of the heel pocket is not related to training or preventinginjury.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,401 describes a ball glove with features thatimprove the ability of a user to feel, catch and manipulate a ball. Theglove has digit couplers that couple to the digits of a human hand. Whena hand is inserted into the glove, the linkages extend within the digitstalls of the glove from the digits of the hand to the ends of the digitstalls. The glove may also include a heel bumper adjacent the heel ofthe ball glove and orientated to bow away from the palm side of the ballglove body to deflect a ball back into the glove when the ball takes ahigh hop adjacent the ball glove. Side edges of the heel bumper may bepermanently or releasably connected to the thumb digit stall and thelittle finger digit stall of the ball glove. These features improve theability of a user to feel, catch and manipulate a ball but they are notadapted for use by a child or beginner first learning to play.

Gloves for improving the performance of advanced players are typicallydesigned to be flexible and are optimized for catching, holding, andreleasing the ball. Gloved designed for safety should be optimized forpreventing injury and minimal interference with function. Existingtraining gloves, or beginner's gloves, maintain an emphasis on ballcontrol for performance and are not designed for maximum efficacy withrespect to preventing injury.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a beginner's glove, or training glove,that is designed to provide greater efficacy than existing gloves andmitts with respect to preventing injury. Compared with existingbeginner's gloves, the present glove is generally less flexible, or morerigid, so that resistance to closing the glove causes the hand of abeginner to remain in an open position. This is ideal for helping achild beginner catch a ball. A cushioned pad attached to the heel of theglove creates a deep pocket capable of catching and holding a ball whileproviding protection against injury from a ball bouncing off of the heelof the glove. The cushioned nature of the pad can also absorb kineticenergy from a ball and slow it down to reduce the seriousness of injuryif the ball is deflected into the face of the wearer, for example. Theinvention also provides a kit for modifying an existing ball glove byattaching a cushioned pad to the heel of the glove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative toeach other, with emphasis placed instead upon clearly illustrating theprinciples of the disclosure. Like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a palm side view of a ball glove comprising a cushioned pad;

FIG. 2 is a top view a ball glove comprising a cushioned pad; and.

FIG. 3 is a kit for modifying a ball glove comprising a cushion pad andmeans of attachment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Selected embodiments are explained with reference to the drawings. Itwill be apparent from this disclosure that the descriptions of theselected embodiments are provided for illustration only and not for thepurpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. Itwill be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,”“including” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification,specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations,elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence oraddition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood thatwhen an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” toanother element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the otherelement or intervening elements may be present.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

FIG. 1 is a palm side view of a training glove (10). The example shownin the figure is a child's training glove but the training glove may besized for an adult. The glove may be a baseball or softball glove for achild or an adult, a baseball or softball mitt, or similar glove or mittfor catching a ball. The training glove (10) comprises a standard glove(14) for a ball playing sport and a cushioned pad (15) attached to theheel (12) and/or the lateral sides (13) of the glove extending from theheel (12). The glove (14) has a length L measured in a straight linefrom the base of the glove (11) to the tip (19) of the glove, parallelwith the fingers of the glove along the cushion pad as shown in FIG. 1.In this embodiment, the top side (15T) of the pad (15) is locatedapproximately half way between the the base (11) and tip (19). The topside (15) may located, for example at a distance from the base (11) ofbetween 0.33 L to 6.33 L or from about 0.4 L to about 0.6 L. The lengthL may be from around 16 cm to around 30 cm. The top side (15T) may beflat as shown in the figure or it may have other shapes, includingangles and curves. The pad (15) is shown as being in continuous contactwith the surfaces of the glove (14). Alternatively, there may be gapsbetween portions of the glove (14) and the pad (15).

FIG. 2 is a top view of the same glove shown in FIG. 1. The volumesurrounded by the glove (14) and the cushioned pad (15) forms the ballpocket (25), which is large enough to receive and hold a ball, such as atee ball, softball or baseball. The pad (15) may comprise an opening(27) into an interior of the pad comprising a cavity (15C) as shown inFIG. 3. The opening and cavity may be sized to allow storage of anarticle such as a mouth guard inside the pad (15). Additionally oralternatively, the opening and cavity may be sized and shaped to receiveand store a note, an identification card, a medication, a sensor such asan accelerometer, wireless communication device or other small article.

The pad (15) comprises a cushioning material such as polyethylene foam,neoprene foam, compressed polyester batting, polyester fiberfill,polyurethane foam, cotton, and the like. The cushioning preferablychosen to provide a substantial reduction of kinetic energy of a ballimpacting the pad (15). The cushioning material may be enclosed in anouter covering made from a durable material such as natural leather,synthetic leather, bonded leather, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene(ABS), acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, polyvinyl chloride (PVC),polyurethane, and the like. The pad (15) is preferably stiff enough tokeep the empty glove open and to provide a resistance against closingthe glove when it is on the hand of a user. A length of the top side(15T) of a flat cushion pad (15) should be sufficient to hold the gloveopen and may be from around 10 cm to around 24 cm. The resistanceprovided by the pad (15) to closing the glove is enough to prevent auser from unintentionally closing the glove. The resistance to closingthe glove may be from 0.5 N to 8 N, for example, 0.5 N, 1 N, 2 N, 3 N, 4N, 5 N, 6 N, 7 N, or 8 N. The resistance is preferably between 0.5 N and4 N and most preferably between 0.5 N and 2 N.

The bottom surface or base surface (15B) of the pad (15) facing the heelof the glove conforms to the shape of the heel (12) of the glove. Thelateral sides of the pad (15) preferably conform to, or are conformableto, the lateral sides (13) of the glove around the heel (12). The pad(15) shown in the drawings has a wedged shaped so that the thickness ofthe pad (15) is greatest at the base surface (15B) facing the heel (12)of the glove and tapers down toward the top side of the pad (15T). Thewedge shape may be useful for keeping the ball in the glove once itenters the pocket (25) even when the glove is not closed by the user.Alternatively, the pad (15) may have a constant thickness throughout.The pad (15) may also have a convex or curved shape resulting in alarger pocket (25). The thickness of the pad (15) at the heel ispreferably in a range of from 1 cm to 4 cm. The thickness of the pad(15) on the top side (15T) facing away from the heel is preferably from0.5 cm to 3 cm and more preferably from 1 cm to 2 cm.

The pad (15) may be reversibly attached or irreversibly attached to theglove (14) at the heel (12) and/or the lateral sides (13) extending formthe heel. Attachment is preferably along the heel (12) of the glove (14)and along lateral sides (13) of the glove that extend along the palmside of the glove. Reversible attachment means may include Velcro® stripattachment between strips sewn or glued onto the glove (14) and pad (15)and snaps sewn or glued onto the glove (14) and pad (15), hooks andloops sewn or glued onto the glove (14) and pad (15), and zippers sewnor glued onto the glove (14) and pad (15). Irreversible attachment meansmay include gluing, sewing, stitching, tacking, stapling, and riveting.

FIG. 3 shows a kit (30) for modifying a glove or mitt to comprise acushioned pad (15) attached to the heel (12) and/or lateral sides (13)of the glove or mitt. The kit (30) may comprise a pad (15) and means forattachment (17) to the glove or mitt. The attachment means (17) may bepermanent or reversible attachment means. Examples of reversibleattachment means may include strips of Velcro® with adhesive backing tobe applied to the heel (12) and lateral (13) surfaces of glove and tocorresponding base surface (15B) and/or sides of the pad (15) facing thelateral surfaces extending fro the heel. Another example of reversibleattachment means may include strips of Velcro® and an adhesive to beapplied to the Velcro® strips, the heel (12) and lateral (13) surfacesof glove, and to corresponding sides of the pad (15) facing the heel andlateral surfaces. Yet another example of reversible attachment means mayinclude a reversible adhesive such as polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate(PHEMA) or a heat labile dimethacrylate polymer adhesive to be appliedto the glove (14) and pad (15). Examples of permanent attachment meansmay include permanent adhesive, rivets, sewing thread and needle, andstaples.

While selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the presenttraining glove and kit for modifying a training glove, various changesand modifications can be made to the selected embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims. Components that are shown directly connected or contacting eachother can have intermediate structures disposed between them. Thestructures and functions of one embodiment may be adopted in anotherembodiment and it is not necessary for all advantages to be present in aparticular embodiment. The glove may be a catcher's mitt, pitcher'sglove, infield glove; or outfield glove for softball or baseball. Theglove may be for a sport other than softball or baseball in which asimilar type of glove is used to catch a ball.

1. A ball glove comprising a cushioned pad attached to at least one of: a heel of the glove and lateral sides of the glove extending from the heel, wherein the cushioned pad and the glove form a ball pocket sized to receive a ball.
 2. The ball glove of claim 1, wherein the glove has a length L measured from a base of the glove to a tip of the glove and the cushioned pad extends from the heel of the glove toward the tip of the glove a distance that is between 0.4 L and 0.6 L.
 3. The ball glove of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad comprises a cavity and an opening into the cavity and wherein the cavity and opening are configured to allow the storage of an article inside the cavity.
 4. The ball glove of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad resists closing of the ball glove with a force sufficient to keep the glove open when not in use.
 5. The ball glove of claim 4, wherein the force is at least 1 N but less than 4 N.
 6. The ball glove of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad comprises lateral sides that conform to lateral sides of the glove to which the lateral sides of the cushioned pad are attached.
 7. The ball glove of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad has a wedged shaped so that a thickness of the cushioned pad is greatest on a bottom side of the cushioned pad attached to the heel of the glove and tapers down toward an opposite, top side of the cushioned pad.
 8. The ball glove of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad has a thickness of from 0.5 cm to 4 cm.
 9. The ball glove of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad is removably attached to the glove.
 10. A kit for modifying a ball glove to comprise a cushioned pad (15) attached to one or more of a heel and lateral sides of the glove extending from the heel, said kit comprising: a cushioned pad that conforms to, or is conformable to, the heel of the glove and lateral sides of the glove extending form the heel, and means for attachment to one or more of a heel and lateral sides of the glove extending from the heel.
 11. The kit of claim 10, wherein the glove has a length L measured from a base of the glove to a tip of the glove and the cushioned pad extends from the heel of the glove toward the tip of the glove a distance that is between 0.4 L and 0.6 L.
 12. The kit of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad comprises an interior cavity and an opening into the cavity.
 13. The kit of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad resists compression from lateral sides of the cushioned pad with a the resistance force of at least 1 N but less than 4 N.
 14. The kit of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad has a wedged shaped so that a thickness of the cushioned pad is greatest on a side of the cushioned pad to be attached to the heel of the glove and tapers down toward an opposite, top side of the cushioned pad.
 15. The kit of claim 1, wherein the cushioned pad has a thickness of from 0.5 cm to 4 cm.
 16. The kit of claim 1, wherein the attachment means is a reversible attachment means.
 17. The kit of claim 16, wherein reversible attachment means comprises a strip of velcro with adhesive backing or a strip of velcro and an adhesive.
 18. The kit of claim 16, wherein reversible attachment means comprises polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (PHEMA) or a heat labile dimethacrylate polymer adhesive. 